This proposal seeks funding for the fifth cycle of our training program in Pathophysiology and Rehabilitation of Neural Dysfunction (PRND). The program is directed by Dr. Eric Perreault, PhD, and co-Directed by Drs. CJ Heckman, PhD and Todd Kuiken, MD, PhD. Trainees will be guided by a total of 23 highly collaborative mentors spanning the range from cellular neurophysiology, to engineering, to clinical medicine, all with an emphasis on rehabilitation from neural dysfunction. The specific objectives of our program are to train rehabilitation scientists who understand the broad spectrum of problems confronting people with neurologic disabilities, and who possess the clinical, scientific and quantitative skils to alleviate the burden on this growing population. The program is based at Northwestern University, in close collaboration with the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago. These two institutions have a long, collaborative history of cutting-edge rehabilitation research, to which or program has contributed. During our first 4 cycles of funding, the program has directly supported 34 pre- doctoral fellows, 24 postdoctoral fellows, and 5 summer interns. Many of these trainees are now established leaders in the field of rehabilitation medicine. In this renewal application, w seek to build on our past achievements and increase our impact through innovations designed to formalize the clinical component of our training program, increase the communication and collaboration between basic scientists and clinicians, and strengthen the career development opportunities that facilitate the transition from trainee to independent scientist. We propose to train three predoctoral fellows, three postdoctoral fellows and two summer interns. This is an in- crease of one postdoctoral fellow and one intern over our current levels. The postdoctoral increase is dedicated to expanding our training pool to MDs. This expansion is aimed at facilitating the translational component of our research program, and increasing the clinical exposure of all trainees. The increase in one summer intern is in acknowledgment of the highly successful summer program we have developed since our last renewal. All predoctoral trainees will be selected from applicants in the departments of Biomedical and Mechanical Engineering, from which there is an abundant and growing applicant pool. Postdoctoral fellows may also joint our program through the departments of Physiology, Physical Therapy and Human Movement Sciences, and Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. This latter department also will provide a source of research physiatrists through the existing clinical fellowship program. All trainees, regardless of level, will complete 2 year of training in our program. By integrating the proposed innovations with the successful practices we already have in place, we expect to continue advancing the science and practice of rehabilitation medicine by training the next generation of interdisciplinary leaders. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: This proposal seeks funding for the fifth cycle of our training program in Pathophysiology and Rehabilitation of Neural Dysfunction (PRND). The specific objectives are to train rehabilitation scientists who understand the broad spectrum of problems confronting people with neurologic disabilities, and who possess the clinical, scientific and quantitative skills to alleviate the burden on this growing population.